One For The Road Block
by sitcomqueen8
Summary: After two years, Cheers didn't really changed much. While some left to fulfill goals, the rest of the gang remained content with their lives at Cheers and Sam realized that running the bar was his true love. But when Rebecca returns with some baggage and a few secrets of her own, will Sam step up as a friend to help her? Rebecca/Sam Friendship
1. Prologue

**Hello readers. So this is my first attempt at a Cheers fanfic. It was just something I really wanted to write for a while.**

 **The story takes place two years after the events of "One for the Road." It mainly focuses on the Rebecca and Sam friendship and how I imagined things might have gone after Don left her (as Sam mentioned in the Frasier episode that he guest starred on).**

 **Synopsis: After two years, Cheers didn't really changed much. Though Woody left to fulfill his position as city councilor, Frasier returned to his home in Seattle, and Rebecca ran off and got married, the rest of the gang remained content with their lives at Cheers and Sam realized that running the bar was his true love. But when Rebecca returns with some baggage and a few secrets of her own, will Sam step up as a friend to help her?**

* * *

After two years, the bar still felt exactly the same. Carla was still her snarky self, Norm and Cliff remained where they always were, and Sam was in his rightful place behind the bar. Oddly enough, nothing much had changed at Cheers with the exception of the hoard of waitresses who had come and gone either because of Sam's sexual promiscuity or Carla's sarcastic remarks that the girls couldn't seem to handle. She just thought they were wimps who couldn't take an honest joke.

Sam, as usual, had his eye on this month's new girl. She was cute and petit with a nice set of legs and auburn hair that fell down to her shoulders. Granted she was half his age, but hey? Who doesn't like a good challenge?

"Old habits never die. Aye, Sammy?" Carla nudged as she watched Sam not so subtly check out the new girl.

"Looks good. Doesn't she?" Sam couldn't keep his eyes off of her. "Think I could offer her a ride home? Close to closing."

Carla raised her brow as she poured Norm another beer, "I think I'd like to see a waitress last more than two weeks, but hey, that's just me."

Norm chimed in as she handed him the full glass, "Wasn't it you who scared away the last two?"

"So what's your point?" Carla shrugged. She gave a dirty look just as Cliff was about to reply. He decided to say nothing… for once.

Ignoring the three at the other end of the bar, Sam decided to go for it. He waltzed up to the cute young waitress who was bussing her last table of the night. "Hey there, sweetheart," he opened smoothly. "It's, uh, getting kind of chilly out there. Thought I could offer you a ride home. What do you say?" He hadn't lost it yet. Still as confident as ever.

"I don't know," she replied with a simple glance.

"Well, I'd hate to see a lovely girl like you walking home alone in the cold," he replied, suggestively bringing his body a little closer to hers.

She chuckled, "Who could refuse such a gentleman?"

"Just let me grab my coat and we can be on our way then," he said with his crooked, endearing smile. Sam quickly jogged back to the office, grabbed the jacket, and took the young redhead by the arm. As he kindly held her coat for her as she slipped her arms through, Sam heard the front door open. "I'm sorry, we're clos-" He paused as he glanced up and saw who it was standing in the doorway with a single suitcase in her hand. His eyes connected with her sorrowful light-green ones. "Rebecca?"

"Hello, Sam."

* * *

 **Chapter one is more of just a prelude to the story. Stay tuned for more to come.**


	2. Becky's Back

"What are you doing here?" Sam stared up at the woman frozen in the doorway. He could sense that she was upset, afraid. In an effort to comfort her, he walked up the steps and took a hold of her arms. He gently stroked them with his thumbs and waited for her to reply.

In a soft droning voice, Rebecca replied, "Don left me. I didn't know where else to go." She was trying so hard not to break down, but it was bound to happen any minute.

In a soft and loving tone, Sam said, "Okay. It's okay, sweetheart. Why don't you just come sit down over here and take a second? Huh?" He led her over to the nearest chair and helped her sit. He got down on one knee in front of her and took her hands, waiting for her to say something. "What happened?"

It felt like she was in shock. She barely moved, her hands shook in Sam's embrace, and her gaze remained blank. She barely heard him ask the question. Once it registered, she blinked a few times and replied, "I did it again. I screwed up my life and all I have to come back to is you and this stupid bar!" She placed her head in her hands as she began to sob uncontrollably— as she always did when she did something wrong.

Sam sighed, not really taking what she said to heart. He was far too used to those types of comments from Rebecca when she was upset. He could tell right then and there that it may have been two years, but she was sure the same old Rebecca. As the bar owner glanced up to check on his date for the evening, he noticed that the redheaded waitress was already long gone. Perhaps she thought Rebecca was a certain someone from his past that she didn't want to deal with. He could understand that. With another sigh, Sam placed a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Sweetheart," he said softly, "start from the beginning and tell me what happened."

Rebecca tried pulling herself together long enough to respond. "Everything just fell apart so fast," she said, shaking her head. "It may have taken a while, but then it just hit us. We weren't right for each other." She finally made eye contact with the man kneeling in front of her. They both remained silent for a minute. Suddenly, the brunette broke down once again. Her voice cracked as she admitted, "I lied." Her face scrunched up the usual way it did when she cried uncontrollably, "He got rich and left me!" The long "e" sound fell into another long sob. "He made a fortune with some stupid plumbing invention." She looked to Sam again and said, "I'm sorry for intruding on your life, Sam, but… I really didn't know where to go. I… sold my apartment when we got married."

"Well, I guess I should be used to it by now," he chuckled. He watched Rebecca let out another whimper out of guilt. "Wait, no. Sweetheart, it was just a joke," he corrected himself. "Was just trying to lighten the mood." He reached forward and brushed a strand of hair back, tucking it behind her ear. Wiping the running mascara off of her cheeks, Sam smiled, "I'd be happy to have you stay at my place until you can get back on your feet."

"Really?" Rebecca seemed so shocked that he actually offered that. After the countless times she messed something up, he was still willing to do something so genuinely kind for her. "Thank you," she let out in a soft sigh." This wasn't easy for her, admitting that she was vulnerable and scared.

"Of course." Sam smiled. "Come on, sweetheart," he said, helping her stand back up. "Now let's get you home and into bed."

"Don't start that, Sam," Rebecca whined.

"I'm not," he laughed. "I know, it's a first for me too. We're going to get you into bed and me onto the pullout couch. No funny business." He reached down and grabbed her bag, then wrapped his other arm around her shoulder. "Come on," he repeated, escorting her out the door and to his car.

0-0-0

Rebecca awoke to the smell of fresh brewed coffee. It was strange; she couldn't entirely remember where she was. As the blurriness in her sight began to clear, pieces of the room became more apparent and she started to remember. She had gone to Sam a few hours after the fight with Don. Bits and pieces of the crying and the confession reeled its evil head back into her memory. Just the slightest reminder of it made her anxious.

She glanced over at the clock on Sam's bedside table. It was already 10AM. How could she still feel so crappy though? With a deep breath as she sat up, the still exhausted brunette brushed a hand through her hair, covered herself up in the robe that Sam had left hanging on the bedroom door, and entered the kitchen. Her stride was very slow and light, her hand folded over her chest as she glanced around at the apartment. Sam hadn't changed a thing in the past two years. The familiarity actually gave her some comfort. She smirked slightly before stepping over to the counter.

"What's all this?" she asked, her voice still quiet and raspy from sleep. Laid out before her was a mess of cracked eggs, chopped vegetables, and cheese. The smell of coffee was even stronger in there too.

Sam glanced over at her quickly with a bright smile. "Hey there, sweetheart. It's good to see you up and about. Thought you might end up in bed all day."

"It was tempting," Rebecca sighed.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't," he said, sliding a cup of coffee over to her. "Just the way you like it."

He managed to make her chuckle. "After all of these years, you still remember how I like my coffee?"

"Hey, I'm not just a pretty face and good hair," he replied. He watched the brunette roll her eyes, fighting the urge to smile at him. "What would you like on your omelet?"

Rebecca cringed and shook her head. "I'm really not hungry, Sam. I think I'll just stick with this." Sam looked at her with concerned eyes. "I'm just still a bit shaky from last night, okay? I'll eat later."

"You need to eat," Sam pushed.

"Look I appreciate all of this, but… I'm not going to just bounce back in one day. Don't try to force me to feel better. I really thought… I really thought it would work with this guy."

"Rebecca, you admitted that you hated his career, and that your were poor, and that your jumped into it way too fast."

"Once I got past all of _that_ , it wasn't so bad." She shook her head, trying to refute Sam. She knew he was right though. She really did just jump into Don's arms as a way to prove to herself that she wasn't a hopeless loser. She supposed that doing that just made her even more of one. Gritting her teeth, she looked up at the man across the counter and spoke honestly. "Look, I know that haven't made a lot of smart choices in most, if not all, of my life. I'm well aware of it."

"Rebecca, that's not what I-"

"Thanks for the coffee," she interrupted before walking back into the bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

0-0-0

"Well, she really does get the short stick in life?" Norm curiously asked.

Sam had explained the whole situation to everyone at the bar that day. Don leaving, Rebecca's breakdown, how sensitive she seemed this morning; it was a bit of a shock, though most people, like Carla, had tabs on when the whole thing was going to flop. For her, it was more surprising that it did last two years.

"Yeah, I'm not entirely sure how to pull her out of this one, guys." Sam shrugged.

"Why don't you just give her her old job back?" Norm suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Carla yelled from across the room. "I'd rather have my left arm eaten off by rabid rats than have that broad be the boss of me again."

"I thought you liked Rebecca," Sam commented.

"You know me, Sammy. I don't like anybody." She winked as she walked away with her next order of drinks.

As he wiped off the bar with a spare rag, Sam simply nodded his head and laughed. Giving it more thought, maybe running this bar again could be what she needed. It always seemed to work before, and he always preferred pushing all of that corporate and financial crap on her. He really hated keeping track of all that. "Maybe you're right, Norm," he said. "Getting her to work again will at least get her motivated to get out of my apartment."

"Is that where she is now?" Norm asked.

"Yep. Went and locked herself in my room."

"Hey, Normy," Cliff chimed in at hearing what Sam said, "didn't something kind of bad happen the last time Sam left Rebecca alone when she was upset? Yeah, gosh, what was that?"

"Oh god," Sam's eyes widened at the realization. Throwing his towel across the counter and dogging around the corner, he made his way out of the bar as quickly as possible.

"She burnt the bar down, Cliff," Norm reminded him.

"Oh, yeah… That's right."


	3. The Big Secret

**Hi readers! Happy to see some people are really enjoying the story. I know I've been posting really quickly, but I've been dying to post this chapter. It's the real big turning point for my story. Hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

Rebecca had reluctantly agreed to head back to Cheers, but only as a way to save up for her own apartment. She couldn't stay with Sam forever, nor did she want to under the circumstances. But as the week progressed the idea of being back where she started, her personal thoughts and problems, were just weighing her down even more. The longer she was there, the more she thought what a terrible idea it was to come back. Especially considering it was only an amount of time before everyone found out the secrets she didn't want them to know.

Sam was beginning to get worried. He knew that Rebecca was having a tough time with the Don situation and he didn't like the idea of her being alone for too long even though it was what she supposedly wanted. Everyone knew the kind of things she did when she got this upset about Evan, and Robin, well, and almost every other guy that didn't work out, which just so happened to be _every_ guy. He just didn't want her to fall off the wagon again, especially considering that the last time she did… she burned down the bar. He wasn't to partial about going through something like that again.

"Hey, Carla?" he asked. "Could you go and check on Rebecca in the bathroom? She's been in there an awfully long time."

"She's been in there for a week. Why do you care now?" Receiving the usual glare from Sam, the woman moaned, "Do I really gotta?" Sam's expression changed as if telling her he'd owe her if she did. "Fine," she unwillingly replied. "But you do owe me. Big time."

After tossing her apron behind the bar, Carla made her way to the ladies room. "Hey, Rebecca," she voiced out as she stepped through the door, "Sam wanted me to-" She stopped for a moment and listened to the obnoxious sound of Rebecca hurling in one of the stalls. "What, are you dying in there or something?"

Between heaves, Rebecca replied in a deep, uncomfortable voice, "I'm fine."

"Oh yeah," Carla replied sarcastically, "you sound as fit as a fiddle." She hopped up on the sink counter and waited for Rebecca to finish and step out of the stall. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Rebecca replied forcefully as she wiped her mouth with a paper towel. "It's just that little bug that's been going around."

"There ain't been no bug going around here, Becks," Carla replied.

"Yes there has."

"Nope. You forget something; I know everything that is going around in this bar. You ain't gonna pull a fast one over me." Both women shared a battling stare. It only took a moment for Carla to see it, but once she did, she had to make sure. As Rebecca went to look away, Carla stopped her by take a hold of her chin. "Wait a minute," she looked back into Rebecca's eyes. She knew that look; she could sense it. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rebecca pulled back, confused and uncomfortable.

"I cannot believe this."

"What?" Rebecca stood there nervously, fearing she had been found out.

"That bastard knocked you up before he kicked you to the curb," Carla replied with a surprising grin.

"No."

"Oh yes," Carla knew that look all too well. She had been through it seven times. She knew the pregnancy glow when she saw it. "You got yourself a bun in the oven." She couldn't help but laugh. She felt so accomplished for finding Rebecca out.

"Don't you dare say anything to Sam," Rebecca threatened. "Or anyone for that matter. I don't want people to know."

"What'd you think you were gonna do? Hide in here for nine months, pop the kid out when the time came, and hope no one noticed?" Carla replied. This whole "don't tell people" thing was always ridiculous in her mind.

"No," Rebecca sighed, annoyed with the remark. "But… " She let out another deep breath, "I've already intruded on Sam's life enough. I can't throw this on him too, especially since I… haven't… decided just yet."

"What do you mean _decided_?" Carla seemed confused.

Rebecca shook her head. "Whether or not I'm going to keep it." She leaned against the countertop, feeling her cheeks burning from the shame she felt bringing up this personal topic with Carla, of all people. She glanced up at Carla; the expression on the waitresses face was just as Rebecca had expected. "Could you at least hear me out before judging me so harshly?" She replied with a hint of insult.

"No!" Carla remained her usual blunt self. "I can judge you all I want. As I do with everyone else. It's just my nature really," she found herself trailing off. "But why the hell wouldn't you want to keep the kid? I kinda thought it was something you wanted when you went through that whole baby fiasco with Sam."

"That was different," Rebecca replied shaking her head.

"Really?" Carla replied in disbelief. "How so?"

"Well," Rebecca paused to think, "when Sam and I agreed to have a baby it was because we knew that… neither of us was going to back out. The baby would have a mother _and_ a father. Regardless of if we loved each other romantically, we at least knew that our baby would have that. But…" she paused, taking a moment to pull herself together. God knew she did not want to break down in front of Carla. "Don's not coming back, and he never will. And I can't do this by myself."

"Why not?" Carla shrugged her shoulders like Rebecca's explanation was no big deal. "I managed and I think… most of my kids are okay."

"I'm not you, Carla," Rebecca continued to sulk. "I can't seem to get anything right in my life. I destroy everything I touch, every relationship I've ever been in… I'm shallow and cold."

"Who ever said that?"

"You did."

"Oh… yeah."

"I just…" Rebecca slinked up onto the counter beside Carla and set her hands in her lap. "Is it really fair of me to bring a child into my screwed up life?"

"Listen," Carla sighed as she hopped off of the sink counter. "Now don't take this as some sort of friendly sentiment or nothin'. But… I thought the same thing with my first kid."

"What made you decide to keep him?"

"His idiot father."

"That doesn't help me," Rebecca shrugged.

"Well then let me finish." Carla's eyes widened with annoyance. "When he was six, Tony came to me and asked me why I had him. And you know what I told him? I told him it was because he turned out to be the little something I needed to make my life fulfilling." She paused. "Then he went and became an idiot very much like his father, but it was good while it lasted. And… I still love him." Rebecca just nodded her head. She wasn't sure how to respond, or if she even wanted to. Carla just gave her a little sympathetic smirk and patted her knee. "I'll let Sammy know that you're okay," she said before leaving Rebecca alone to think.

0-0-0

She had been quiet all day and even on the ride home. Sam could sense that something was up, but he also knew that when he pushed Rebecca to talk, it never ended well. On the other hand, letting her hold it in until she burst was never good either. The more he thought about it, he couldn't really win. But he knew he'd have to try at some point.

Rebecca sat quietly on the sofa, her back against the arm and her knees curled up to her chest as she read a book. Sam sat at the other end. After taking a moment to stare at her, hoping maybe she'd notice that he wanted to talk, he finally spoke out to grab her attention. "Sweetheart?" he asked.

"Mhmm?" Rebecca hummed, remaining engrossed in her book.

Sam was never good at initiating a conversation. Well, unless he was flirting, of course. But with something so awkward, he was clueless. "How are you feeling?" He thought that was a pretty good line to start out with.

"Fine," she answered quickly. Sam paused again; this was not going so well. Granted, Rebecca also knew how unsubtle Sam was too. She sighed, "If you want to ask me something, just ask me, Sam. Don't dance around it with small talk."

"I wasn't," Sam quickly defended. "But, now that you mention it, I did have a little something on my mind."

"Shoot."

"What was going on today in the bathroom?" Sam finally came out and asked.

"I think that's my business," Rebecca said, finally glancing up from her book to look at the man across from her.

Sam shook his head. "Don't pull that on me, Rebecca," he replied. "You spend half the day in the bathroom, Carla goes in and you two do God-knows-what, and then you come out and you haven't said a word since. I know you and I know the kind of stuff you end up doing after a bad break up."

"Thanks for having so much faith in me," Rebecca mumbled sarcastically as she stuck her nose right back into her book, hoping that it would hint to Sam that she was not in the mood to have this conversation.

"I just don't want you to do anything you'll regret."

"Too late," she mumbled once more to herself.

"What?" Sam had only heard the tiniest bit of that. "Rebecca, come on." He continued to push.

"You know, Sam, did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, I wanted my business to be my own for once?" Rebecca snapped at him. Why couldn't he get it through his head; she didn't want to tell him. She needed to figure this out for herself first. But he wouldn't leave her alone.

"No," Sam replied, "Because you always used to tell me before."

"That was only because you did this to me!" Her voice began to rise and crack slightly as she grew more and more frustrated. "You just push and push until I snap!"

"You know what, fine!" Sam finally gave up. "Don't tell me." Frustrated, he turned away from her and clicked on the television. Ironically enough, the program that was on was discussing the disobedience and rebel culture of this generation's children. After a bit of listening to a boy rant about how he hated his father, Sam quickly changed to sports. "Shame, isn't it," he commented, though he assumed Rebecca wasn't listening anyway. "Who'd want to bring a kid up in a world like that?"

Rebecca could feel the anxiety rising inside of her. Of all things, this had to come up the very moment she specifically didn't want it to. Maybe it was a sign… or maybe she was just the unluckiest person in the world. She closed her eyes tightly and let out a sigh as Sam continued to ramble on about it.

"…especially, when you think about it, he could end up like that one. Hating your guts, resenting you? Make's me think we did the right thing not having a kid all those years ago. Imagine what could've-"

"I'm pregnant," she finally blurted out.

With wide eyes, Sam fell silent. He turned back to Rebecca, whose eyes were still shut tightly. She feared the expression on his face. "What?" Sam asked, though he knew he heard right the first time.

Rebecca opened her eyes and looked straight at him. "I'm pregnant, Sam." Her voice was deep and serious.

"Wha- How did this happen?" He watched as Rebecca's expression went from serious to "are you serious?" in a single second. "Okay. That was a dumb question… The better one is: why didn't you want to tell me this?"

Rebecca gestured to the television set and replied, "Because of that. Because it's humiliating to the point where even Carla is being nice to me. Because I've screwed up so many times in my life that I was debating even having it. Take your pick." Wiping away the hint of tears under her eyes, Rebecca quickly stood up and walked into the bedroom. "I shouldn't have come here," she began to rant, the memory of all of those things Sam said about the program repeating in her head. "This is way too much for you to have to deal with and I've completely dropped in on your comfortable life-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, sweetheart," Sam stopped her. He calmly took a hold of her shoulders and set aside the handful of clothes she had started to gather. "You are not intruding on my life. I offered for you to stay here."

"Sam," Rebecca shook her head, "that was before you knew about this baby. Letting me stay for a while is one thing, but you're not responsible for this. And I can't ask you to be. I think I'm just going to call my parents and see if I can go home."

"In San Diego?"

She nodded. "It won't be ideal, but it's really the only choice I have."

"No," Sam continued to argue. "It's not. Listen, Rebecca, forget the dumb comments I made about the stupid program, forget everything. I told you that you are welcome here for as long as you need. That offer will always stand." He watched the brunette give a soft sigh. She still didn't believe that he knew what he was getting himself into. "Rebecca, I remember how happy you were when we decided to try to having a baby together. You probably wanted it even more than I did. I _know_ that you want this kid, and I _know_ that you want to be a mother."

This was what he was best at. Being that kind of friend. Sam always knew what to say and what to do regardless of the situation at hand. Yes, he seemed like a womanizing jerk most of the time, but as a friend, he was so loyal and loving. Rebecca remembered how surprised she was the first time he acted like that with her. However, she couldn't shake some of those doubts.

Staring into Sam's eyes honestly, she replied, "I wasn't going to have to do it alone then."

"What makes you think that you'll have to now?" Sam smiled. "You got me, you got the guys at the bar, Carla…"

"Yes, because those are the people I should be going to for parenting advice…" she replied with snark.

"Just trying to make a point, sweetheart." He chuckled. "I just know how much you want this and I don't want you to be afraid to want it."

Rebecca leaned into Sam's embrace, resting her chin on his shoulder. She still wasn't sure about this whole thing. Really, there was a reason they didn't have a baby three years ago. Was it really possible that anything would be different now? "Sam," she said softly into his shoulder, "this will change everything."

Sam just grinned, "Yeah, but I could use a good change."


End file.
